Chapter Thirty-Three: Perfect Timing

Hadley

The door to the apartment opens and in spills Trick, the cat, and Riley.

"Damn, it smells good in here," Trick moans as he herds Riley towards the bathroom. "Is it almost done?"

"Just have to get the tortillas out of the oven, then it'll be ready. Y'all have perfect timing."

"We need to wash our hands, and then we'll be ready to eat, right Riley?"

"I've got a man-size hunger," she tells me, rubbing her stomach.

"He worked you hard huh?" I hear the timer go off, signaling my tortillas are done.

"She earned her keep today," Trick grins. "But right now I feel like I could eat all those tacos on my own. Let's go get cleaned up, Sprite."

The way she follows him, doesn't question what he says to her, and the way she looks up to him fills me with pride. She's such a good kid, and all she's ever wanted is someone to love her. That's all either of us have ever wanted. I dread what's going to happen when we run out of hours, and we don't have Trick anymore.

Unexpecte